Archive for the ‘2012 Draft’ Category

I was listening to some kind of interview with TT before the draft in which he was talking about how his philosophy of taking the best available player hasn’t changed. He was, per norm, fairly adamant about this. In light of this, it’s at least curious that his first pick this year happens to be at a position where we’re desperate for improvement. In other words, I wonder if TT truly took the best player on their board or if strayed a bit from his plan by thinking a bit about need. Perry projects as a ROLB in a 3-4, a position that has been a serious weak spot for the last few years. (Remember, this position was a problem before we got rid of Cullen Jenkins – Jenkins’ departure only highlighted just how bad we were there.)

Either way – I don’t mind. Truth is we really need help at ROLB and it appears as though we picked up a dude who may be ready to step right in and make a difference.

Read here from PFT via Packer Report. I actually think McCoy has a decent future but I’m not sure this makes a lot of sense to me. Graham Harrell has done decently with his opportunities and knows the system well – which I think is a more important factor in McCarthy’s world than actual talent. I wouldn’t be disappointed with adding McCoy especially if we get him for cheap – I do think he has some real potential – but I guess I’m just a bit surprised to hear about this.

Russell Wilson – I think this guy (former Badgers’ QB, in the draft this year) could be a pretty good NFL QB. I’ve said this before but simply want to say it again. He doesn’t throw the most amazing passes and he’s not very big. But he very much reminds me of a player who has turned out to be the second best QB in the NFL behind Aaron Rodgers – Drew Brees. They are both a bit on the short side, but both stand tall in the pocket, don’t get rattled easily and are way more mature than their ages. Wilson still stands as the most poised college player I have ever watched. He is unflappable as a player and he delivered several times down the stretch in impressive fashion. He just doesn’t get rattled. He even dealt with losing in a professional, far-more-mature-than-22-years-old way. While his arm is probably considered average, his mobility is definitely better than most QBs – he could be a dangerous running QB. He makes very good decisions – he rarely makes boneheaded mistakes. He also won’t have any issues grasping complicated NFL offenses. While Paul Chryst’s offenses at Wisconsin weren’t super complicated, Wilson picked it up no problem from the get-go this past year. Don’t be surprised to see him sneak up draft boards, get on a team somewhere and get a crack at playing when the starter goes down. He will impress when he has his opportunity. (He apparently just had what some scouts are calling the most impressive pro day by a QB they have ever seen – completing 62 of his 65 passes – making all sorts of different throws.)

It was interesting for me to see Peyton Manning so emotional at his press conference. I liked seeing that side of him and importantly, I THINK THIS WHOLE THING WILL MAKE HIM BETTER. Peyton Manning needed to be knocked down a peg or two. This whole getting released thing despite being cleared to play, has been difficult for him to take. Even though some believe that the Colts were essentially showing mercy for Manning by cutting him from what might be a terrible team, I don’t think Manning sees it that way. I really believe he wanted to finish up a Colt. But the bottom line is that this whole thing has brought him back down to earth a bit. Manning had become WAY too comfortable there in Indy – to the point where he felt just fine yelling at his players and frankly, being a wanker on the field. Remind you of someone? Dan Marino? Guys like this won’t win the big game too often because they are too self-focused in a team sport. Peyton Manning has won 1 Super Bowl – but for the number of times the Colts have gotten into the playoffs, that’s actually not too good. Teams rally around QBs that are more connected to the team – and Manning has always seemed to place more importance on his own image. Don’t get me wrong. I think Peyton Manning is one of the best QBs to ever play the game. And winning the number of games he’s won as a QB is remarkable – even if he’s only won 1 Super Bowl. And his career stats are amazing. And I think if his neck is truly OK, teams with even decent QBs would be crazy not to try to bring him in. He will make whatever team he goes to instantly better. But I would submit that the whole exercise of having to join a new team, make new friends and earn their respect as a leader will bring him back to a place mentally that will be healthier for him. And this again, could make him an even better player over the next couple years. I think Manning’s best fit would be in Arizona. They play on turf, indoors, good coach with a reasonable ego, have Larry Fitzgerald and a couple other decent WRs (Early Doucet), the path to the playoffs may not be too tough, and I just see that as a place that would be a good fit. That said, I still think Miami is the most likely destination with Seattle close behind.

Read here. I posted about Irvin a few weeks ago and there are reasons why he would be a gamble. But a 4.43 from a 245 pound LB? That’s crazy. That’s the kind of make-up speed that could really help not only in the pass rush, but in coverage. This guy continues to intrigue me – and there is something about his story too that makes me wonder if he’s been on TT’s radar too.

Wow. This is good news. I really wondered how committed the Pack would be to bringing Finley back. His attitude, his drops and the fact that the team carries 4-5 TEs on the roster led me to believe the Pack would be ready to let him go. My guess is that Mike McCarthy himself stepped up and demanded that the front office figure something out with Finley. McCarthy and Rodgers have both talked openly about the match-up issues Finley causes for defenses. And we all know that McCarthy’s entire offensive system is predicated on creating mismatches. So I’m guessing McCarthy talked Ted’s ear off about getting Finley re-signed at least for the near term…and Ted delivered.

In the end, I’m glad we re-signed Finley. I wasn’t so sure there for a spell last year, but the guy is a freakishly good athlete who can really help this team. Good move. I also like that we signed him to a shorter-term deal. Finley is injury-prone and the team may have some ongoing concerns about his behavior – two factors that could make signing him to a long-term deal extra risky.

This does bring up the issue then of what the Packers might do with the franchise tag. There is lots of talk of tagging Matt Flynn and then trying to trade him for a high draft pick like New England did with Matt Cassel a few years ago. I’m not in favor of doing this because it’s risky. And I also don’t see the Cassel/Flynn situations as really being the same. Cassel led NE to an 11-5 record and had an entire season’s body of work as evidence of his quality. Flynn has essentially played really well in 2 games in his career. I think there is a market for Flynn definitely, but risking getting stuck with a $14 million salary for a back-up QB just isn’t a good idea (even if it’s for just one year). Another major reason why I think the Pack will let Flynn walk is that they could get (I believe) as high as a 3rd round compensatory pick for letting him go. If this happens, my guess is that TT steps back and considers the fact that they got Flynn in the 7th round, so any compensatory pick higher than the 7th round would be OK with him.

The Packers might consider tagging Scott Wells. As I wrote the other day, I think Scott Wells’ value to our offense was finally, appropriately recognized last year by his Pro Bowl nod. The guy is a very good player and without him I think this offense would suffer. I read the other day that Don Banks at SI.com has the Packers going after center Peter Konz from the Badgers in the first round – primarily because Banks has noticed the Pack doesn’t seem to be doing anything to re-sign Wells. I think it’s possible that the Pack decides to tag Wells AND tries to draft Konz. It would be a succession-planning move of sorts. Konz could learn from Wells for a year and then Wells could get a nice contract elsewhere in 2013. In the end, I’m guessing the team would prefer to have the starting center return and the franchise tag would be an easy way to do this without having to commit to anything longer term for Wells.

Nicely done here from jsonline’s Tyler Dunne. Read up on this OLB prospect Bruce Irvin from West Virginia. While he had some impressive stats in college, the thing that clearly stands out to me is that this 6’2″, 245 pound dude apparently runs a 4.4 in the 40. (You know we’re in combine mode when 40 times are being thrown about.) For an OLB, 4.4 is unreal. This is as fast as guys like Nick Collins, and if you count his 4.37 40 time in junior college, as fast as guys like Tramon Williams. Quality coverage of TEs or even WRs might be a possibility for a guy like this. And having another relentless, super fast pass rusher opposite Mathews sounds like a dream scenario.